Value Investing News

For many people the S&P 500 and U.S. Stock Market are synonymous terms. While in reality the U.S. stock market is much larger with public companies numbering in the thousands. The S&P 500 Index is owned and maintained by Standard & Poor's, a division of McGraw-Hill. The index was first published in 1957 and is the second most recognized index in the U.S.

Dividend growth investing is a long-term strategy. A growing dividend is a sign that the company is becoming more valuable. Companies that consistently increase dividends tend to have steadily rising share prices and the best way to benefit from this is to buy and hold the stocks. Diversification and a focus on blue-chip stocks provides insurance for the few companies that don't pan out.

The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats is the most recognized list of dividend stocks. The Dividend Aristocrats index is designed to measure the performance of S&P 500 constituents that have followed a policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years. This index is a member of the S&P Dividend Aristocrats index series.

We have all heard it. Mainstream media pundits talking about 'the lost decade' and that 'buy-and-hold as a strategy is dead and gone, if ever it was a viable strategy.' Sorry folks, but I am not buying or holding their position on buy-and-hold. Buy-and-hold is neither dead, gone or even sick, but I will concede - it is misunderstood.

Not all stock in the S&P 500 Index pay dividends, but many of the best known dividend growth stocks are part of the index. This week week, I screened my dividend growth stocks database for stocks that are members of the S&P 500 and have a yield of 5% or more. The results are presented below:

U.S. REITs were created in 1960 by Congress as a way for all investors to have access to large-scale, income-producing real estate accessible. This week week, I screened my dividend growth stocks database for REITs with a yield at or above 5% and have increased their dividends for at least 10 consecutive years. The results are presented below:

The latest 10-K filing by HCP, INC.

One asset class that dividend investors could use in order to diversify their portfolios is real estate. The sector includes rental real estate on residential buildings, offices, malls etc. Owning a piece of rental real estate outright however comes with headaches, such as dealing with tenants and not being properly diversified.

If income investing
were as simple as picking the stock with the highest yield, everyone would be an expert. Most assume (rightfully so) that yield is heavily influenced by risk, but much more goes into determining yield. Below are several important factors that influence a stock’s yield, along with some illustrative examples:

This is the second installment in a multi-part series that looks at various options used by income investors to boost their yield while waiting for dividend growth to lift their portfolio’s overall yield-on-cost. Last week we looked at Utilities. This week we are looking at Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

The primary focus of my income portfolio is to create ever-increasing income by investing in dividend growth securities. This means that often I will choose a lower yielding security with better dividend growth prospects over a higher yielding security. However, I will also invest in some high yield securities. Here are some of the better performers, along with my life-to-date return:

There are winners and there are champions in every walk of life. The difference is subtle, but very real. A champion is driven for success and will not let anything stand in its way. Some dividend stocks can be classified as champions.